The institute focuses on basic research into cognition and emotion. Mainly laboratory experimental research approaches are used which use a wide range of cognitive psychological, psychophysiological (eye movement measurements, pupillometry, facial EMG, skin conductance response) and neuroscientific (fMRI, EEG, TMS, fNIRS, neurofeedback, psychopharmacology) methods.

The main focus is on visual aesthetics, in the areas of visual cognition and attention, cognitive and emotional foundations of social behavior, as well as clinical-cognitive neuropsychology. In addition, important contributions are made through methods of research synthesis, such as meta-analyzes, and qualitative methods. Research is often interdisciplinary and is characterized by collaborations with experts in the fields of art history, clinical neuroscience, neuroimaging, and biological psychiatry, as well as comparative behavioral research and cognitive biology.

The subject area of the institute is closely associated with the Vienna Cognitive Science Hub and should be carried out in the next few years through innovative application-oriented research, e.g. on questions of urban and environmental psychology. In addition, there are increasing approaches to validate the findings of laboratory experiments in the field (“from lab to life”), such as the effect of art on well-being or the use of attention measurements in technology development.